Adelaide Hills locals refuse to let ‘sick little vendetta’ stop them from buying and eating strawberries after needle discovery
ANOTHER needle-contaminated strawberry has been discovered, this time in Adelaide’s south, as it’s revealed a young girl was lucky to avoid injury after biting one in the Hills.
- Needle found in strawberries bought in Adelaide Hills
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A SECOND incident of strawberry sabotage in Adelaide has been confirmed by police.
The punnet of Mal’s Black Label strawberries was bought from the Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers shop at Main South Road.
When the strawberries were cut open a metal object was found embedded in one of the strawberries.
No one was was injured
The discovery comes a day after a seven-year-old Adelaide Hills girl was lucky to escape serious injury when she bit into a strawberry containing a hidden sewing needle as the nationwide berry contamination crisis spread to South Australia.
The latest discovery comes as SA growers fear the state’s $100 million industry could be wiped out within weeks if consumers stop buying strawberries and supermarkets implement extra security measures to ensure the safety of customers.
Local shoppers have condemned those responsible for the sabotage campaign after it emerged an Adelaide Hills resident found a needle lodged in a strawberry in a punnet of Mal’s Black Label strawberries on Sunday.
SA Police revealed on Monday the victim was a seven-year-old local girl.
Detective Inspector Billy Thompson, from Major Crime, said the child made the shocking discovery while tucking into a punnet of strawberries bought on Saturday from Klose’s Foodland in Littlehampton.
“She was having those on Sunday morning when she bit into one of the strawberries and discovered a needle, which she told her mum about,” he said.
“Fortunately she wasn’t injured.”
The girl’s father took the punnet back to the store and Klose’s Foodland immediately called authorities and pulled remaining stocks from its shelves at all its Adelaide Hills supermarkets.
Detective Inspector Thompson said police were investigating the incident and there was a “strong possibility” it was the work of a copycat, who took the idea from the first needle contamination cases reported in Queensland last week.
Five Australian states and territories have now reported credible cases of needles found in strawberries, and multiple law enforcement and food safety agencies are investigating.
Detective Inspector Thompson said it was unclear when the needle was inserted into the strawberry bought from the Littlehampton store but warned those responsible could face jail time if they were caught.
He also said anyone making a false report about needles in strawberries could also be jailed, however he stressed police believed the Littlehampton case was a legitimate incident.
Meanwhile, strawberry grower Brenton Sherry, who owns Harvest the Fleurieu and Kuitpo Strawberries, said if people stopped buying strawberries as a result of the sabotage incidents it could have a devastating effect on local growers.
“It’ll wipe out the whole industry in SA ... in a matter of a month,” he said. “Strawberries may never return to SA.”
Mr Sherry said the $100 million SA strawberry industry was made up of about eight family-owned companies, which employed about 1500 people.
Mr Sherry, whose companies oversees 800,000 plants and distributes throughout SA and interstate, said he understood some supermarket chains were considering drastic action to combat the situation.
“(They) are talking about putting metal detectors at their point of sale,” he said.
The Advertiser asked Woolworths and Coles if they planned to use metal detectors at checkouts or elsewhere to check for needles in strawberries.
A Coles spokeswoman said the company would not be rolling out metal detectors at checkouts but would not confirm if they would be used elsewhere, saying the chain did not comment on specific security measures.
“Coles has worked with our suppliers to implement additional control measures to ensure strawberries are inspected before they are sent to supermarkets,” she said.
A Woolworths spokesman did not respond to the question about metal detector use but said the company took food safety “incredibly seriously”.
“We will stay in close contact with, and continue to be steered by, the authorities on the protection of our customers,” he said.
Strawberries Australia SA board member and Uraidla strawberry grower Malcolm Parker said the full effect of the saga on local growers would not be known until they begin harvesting their fruit in about a month.
“It’s of major concern,” he said.
Adelaide Hills shoppers were angered by the sabotage and have vowed to continue buying strawberries.
“I’m not going to let the farmers down — I’ll keep buying (strawberries),” Klose’s Foodland shopper and Littlehampton resident Brett Chandler, 50, said.
SA Health acting executive director of public health services Chris Lease said while investigations were continuing into the nationwide contamination crisis, people should cut all strawberries before eating them.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has ordered Food Standards Australia New Zealand to assist police with strawberry contamination investigations.
The agency will examine strawberry supply chain weaknesses and whether there are any other actions that can be taken.
Anyone with information on people responsible for contaminating fruit should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.